New Mestiza By Gloria Anzaldua And A People's History Of The Untied States

White supremacy was widely present in the readings “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza” by Gloria Anzaldua and “A People’s History of the Untied States” by Zinn Howard. Both readings had vast examples of how white supremacy had run economic, social, political conditions of non-white peoples, land, and everything in between. White superiority was the belief that motivated them to conquer lands that originally did not belong to them; by doing so they converted natives to aliens or unwelcomed and inhabitants to slaves or casualties. In Gloria Anzaldua article “Borderlands/La Frontera; The New Mestiza” she describes how the Southwest of U.S (Aztlan) was conquered by the whites and how they used the border as white mans way of segregation

However, during the Mexican-American War the conquest of the Mexican lands that are now the southwest part of the U.S. was a trophy. The victory of the U.S armed forces allowed them to push down the border 100 miles that is now near El Rio Grande. The borderline is a constant reminder of the Mexicans loses in the war and of the land they lost Gloria describes the border as an open wound “herrida abierta.” Gradually Mexican citizens were driven of their lands back to the core of Mexico that is called Mexico City because of the invasion. Through the invasion white superiorities converted foreigners from natives. In addition to the Mexican American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed and executed and left 100,000 Mexicans with land but the land was hoodwinked from its owners therefore the treaty was not honored by the U.S. The fact that they didn’t honor a treaty they signed on is dishonest and devious of the United States there was definite white superiority behind that deception. The U.S believed that since they already have most of the land

It led Columbus to take Arawak Indians as prisoners on his expedition to search for gold. He sailed across islands capturing Indians along the way. He captured 1,500 Arawak men, women, and children sadly but gratefully for them they died on route so some didn’t have to endure the horrible condition that Columbus put them through. However, those that survived were fully naked and treated as animals because that is how whites saw them. Those that survived had to find gold, which was almost impossible wistfully those that didn’t find anything had their hands cut off and bled to death. Due to this inhumane treatment some tried escaping but were unsuccessful and they were hunted like dogs and killed. In addition, the prisoners were forced into war against the Spaniards who were well armed so they had no chance at being victorious. It leads me to believe that the savages were Columbus and his crew. The Arawak’s could take no more heartless and inhumane treatment that they committed mass suicides. To them they’d rather be dead by their own hands then be treated as animals. Columbus atrocious actions “in two years through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians…were dead” (Zinn 1980:107). What is even more barbaric is them thinking they can do it all over again. When Most of the Arawak Indians were killed they ran low slaves so needed